Staphylococcus aureus is considered to be an extracellular pathogen. However, survival of S. aureus within host cells may provide a reservoir relatively protected from antibiotics, thus enabling long-term colonization of the host and explaining clinical failures and relapses after antibiotic therapy. Here we confirm that intracellular reservoirs of S. aureus in mice comprise a virulent subset of bacteria that can establish infection even in the presence of vancomycin, and we introduce a novel therapeutic that effectively kills intracellular S. aureus. This antibody-antibiotic conjugate consists of an anti-S. aureus antibody conjugated to a highly efficacious antibiotic that is activated only after it is released in the proteolytic environment of the phagolysosome. The antibody-antibiotic conjugate is superior to vancomycin for treatment of bacteraemia and provides direct evidence that intracellular S. aureus represents an important component of invasive infections.

H3K27 methylation mediated by the histone methyltransferase complex PRC2 is critical for transcriptional regulation, Polycomb silencing, Drosophila segmentation, mammalian X chromosome inactivation, and cancer. PRC2-mediated H3K27 methylation can spread along the chromatin and propagate the repressive chromatin environment; thus, chromatin components that antagonize the activity of PRC2 are important for restraining Polycomb silencing. Here we report that in HeLa cells, H3 histones unmethylated at Lys-36 are mostly methylated at Lys-27, with the exception of newly synthesized H3. In addition, K27me3 rarely co-exists with K36me2 or K36me3 on the same histone H3 polypeptide. Moreover, PRC2 activity is greatly inhibited on nucleosomal substrates with preinstalled H3K36 methylation. These findings collectively identify H3K36 methylation as a chromatin component that restricts the PRC2-mediated spread of H3K27 methylation. Finally, we provide evidence that the controversial histone lysine methyltransferase Ash1, a known Trithorax group protein that antagonizes Polycomb silencing in vivo, is an H3K36-specific dimethylase, not an H3K4 methylase, further supporting the role of H3K36 methylation in antagonizing PRC2-mediated H3K27 methylation.

ABSTRACTThe strong restriction barrier present inStaphylococcus aureusandStaphylococcus epidermidishas limited functional genomic analysis to a small subset of strains that are amenable to genetic manipulation. Recently, a conserved type IV restriction system termed SauUSI (which specifically recognizes cytosine methylated DNA) was identified as the major barrier to transformation with foreign DNA. Here we have independently corroborated these findings in a widely used laboratory strain ofS. aureus. Additionally, we have constructed a DNA cytosine methyltransferase mutant in the high-efficiencyEscherichia colicloning strain DH10B (called DC10B). Plasmids isolated from DC10B can be directly transformed into clinical isolates ofS. aureusandS. epidermidis. We also show that the loss of restriction (both type I and IV) in anS. aureusUSA300 strain does not have an impact on virulence. Circumventing the SauUSI restriction barrier, combined with an improved deletion and transformation protocol, has allowed the genetic manipulation of previously untransformable strains of these important opportunistic pathogens.IMPORTANCEStaphylococcal infections place a huge burden on the health care sector due both to their severity and also to the economic impact of treating the infections because of prolonged hospitalization. To improve the understanding ofStaphylococcus aureusandStaphylococcus epidermidisinfections, we have developed a series of improved techniques that allow the genetic manipulation of strains that were previously refractory to transformation. These developments will speed up the process of mutant construction and increase our understanding of these species as a whole, rather than just a small subset of strains that could previously be manipulated.

Interleukin 17C (IL-17C) is a member of the IL-17 family that is selectively induced in epithelia by bacterial challenge and inflammatory stimuli. Here we show that IL-17C functioned in a unique autocrine manner, binding to a receptor complex consisting of the receptors IL-17RA and IL-17RE, which was preferentially expressed on tissue epithelial cells. IL-17C stimulated epithelial inflammatory responses, including the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines and antimicrobial peptides, which were similar to those induced by IL-17A and IL-17F. However, IL-17C was produced by distinct cellular sources, such as epithelial cells, in contrast to IL-17A, which was produced mainly by leukocytes, especially those of the T(H)17 subset of helper T cells. Whereas IL-17C promoted inflammation in an imiquimod-induced skin-inflammation model, it exerted protective functions in dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis. Thus, IL-17C is an essential autocrine cytokine that regulates innate epithelial immune responses.

T-helper-17 (Th17) cells have critical roles in mucosal defense and in autoimmune disease pathogenesis 1-3. They are most abundant in the small intestine lamina propria (SILP), where their presence requires colonization of mice with microbiota 4-7. Segmented Filamentous Bacteria (SFB) are sufficient to induce Th17 cells and to promote Th17-dependent autoimmune disease in animal models 8-14. However, the specificity of Th17 cells, the mechanism of their induction by distinct bacteria, and the means by which they foster tissue-specific inflammation remain unknown. Here we show that the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of intestinal Th17 cells in SFB-colonized mice has minimal overlap with that of other intestinal CD4+ T cells and that most Th17 cells, but not other T cells, recognize antigens encoded by SFB. T cells with antigen receptors specific for SFB-encoded peptides differentiated into RORγt-expressing Th17 cells, even if SFB-colonized mice also harbored a strong Th1 cell inducer, Listeria monocytogenes, in their intestine. The match of T cell effector function with antigen specificity is thus determined by the type of bacteria that produce the antigen. These findings have significant implications for understanding how commensal microbiota contribute to organ-specific autoimmunity and for developing novel mucosal vaccines.

Both microbial and host genetic factors contribute to the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease1–4. Accumulating evidence suggests that microbial species that potentiate chronic inflammation, as in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), often also colonize healthy individuals. These microbes, including the Helicobacter species, have the propensity to induce pathogenic T cells and are collectively referred to as pathobionts4–6. However, an understanding of how such T cells are constrained in healthy individuals is lacking. Here we report that host tolerance to a potentially pathogenic bacterium, Helicobacter hepaticus (H. hepaticus), is mediated by induction of RORγt+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (iTreg) that selectively restrain pro-inflammatory TH17 cells and whose function is dependent on the transcription factor c-Maf. Whereas H. hepaticus colonization of wild-type mice promoted differentiation of RORγt-expressing microbe-specific iTreg in the large intestine, in disease-susceptible IL-10-deficient animals there was instead expansion of colitogenic TH17 cells. Inactivation of c-Maf in the Treg compartment likewise impaired differentiation and function, including IL-10 production, of bacteria-specific iTreg, resulting in accumulation of H. hepaticus-specific inflammatory TH17 cells and spontaneous colitis. In contrast, RORγt inactivation in Treg only had a minor effect on bacterial-specific Treg-TH17 balance, and did not result in inflammation. Our results suggest that pathobiont-dependent IBD is driven by microbiota-reactive T cells that have escaped this c-Maf-dependent mechanism of iTreg-TH17 homeostasis.

Semiconservative DNA replication ensures the faithful duplication of genetic information during cell divisions. However, how epigenetic information carried by histone modifications propagates through mitotic divisions remains elusive. To address this question, the DNA replication-dependent nucleosome partition pattern must be clarified. Here, we report significant amounts of H3.3-H4 tetramers split in vivo, whereas most H3.1-H4 tetramers remained intact. Inhibiting DNA replication-dependent deposition greatly reduced the level of splitting events, which suggests that (i) the replication-independent H3.3 deposition pathway proceeds largely by cooperatively incorporating two new H3.3-H4 dimers and (ii) the majority of splitting events occurred during replication-dependent deposition. Our results support the idea that "silent" histone modifications within large heterochromatic regions are maintained by copying modifications from neighboring preexisting histones without the need for H3-H4 splitting events.

Overexpression of HER-2/neu (c-erbB2) is associated with increased risk of recurrent disease in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and a poorer prognosis in node-positive breast cancer. We therefore examined the early immunotherapeutic targeting of HER-2/neu in DCIS. Before surgical resection, HER-2/ neu pos DCIS patients (n = 13) received 4 weekly vaccinations of dendritic cells pulsed with HER-2/neu HLA class I and II peptides. The vaccine dendritic cells were activated in vitro with IFN-; and bacterial lipopolysaccharide to become highly polarized DC1-type dendritic cells that secrete high levels of interleukin-12p70 (IL-12p70). Intranodal delivery of dendritic cells supplied both antigenic stimulation and a synchronized preconditioned burst of IL-12p70 production directly to the anatomic site of T-cell sensitization. Before vaccination, many subjects possessed HER-2/neu-HLA-A2 tetramer-staining CD8 pos T cells that expressed low levels of CD28 and high levels of the inhibitory B7 ligand CTLA-4, but this ratio inverted after vaccination. The vaccinated subjects also showed high rates of peptide-specific sensitization for both IFN-;-secreting CD4 pos (85%) and CD8 pos (80%) T cells, with recognition of antigenically relevant breast cancer lines, accumulation of T and B lymphocytes in the breast, and induction of complement-dependent, tumor-lytic antibodies. Seven of 11 evaluable patients also showed markedly decreased HER-2/neu expression in surgical tumor specimens, often with measurable decreases in residual DCIS, suggesting an active process of ''immunoediting'' for HER-2/neuexpressing tumor cells following vaccination. DC1 vaccination strategies may therefore have potential for both the prevention and the treatment of early breast cancer. [Cancer Res 2007;67(4):1842-52]